Many individuals and firearm enthusiasts desire to mount one or more interchangeable accessories, such as a scope, light, bayonet and the like, onto their firearms. Historically, this has been accomplished by fixedly mounting the accessory to the Picatinny or tactical rail of the firearm, which is essentially a bracket that can be attached to a firearm and which provides a standard mounting platform for a desired attachment. However, heretofore, the process of mounting such accessories to the Picatinny rail has required the use of external tools, and has been both awkward and time-consuming. Moreover, the inability to timely attach a desired accessory to a firearm, or switch accessories, can be dangerous for the user. For example, in combat, a soldier's inability to quickly attach a bayonet to his or her firearm could result in death or serious injury to the soldier.
Consequently, there is a long felt need in the art for a device that enables a user to quickly and securely attach/detach an accessory (e.g., a scope, light, bayonet, etc.) to the Picatinny or tactical rail of a firearm without the use of external tools. There is also a long felt need for a device that is capable of being locked/unlocked with a single hand, thereby allowing the user to retain possession of the firearm with his or her remaining hand. Finally, there is a long felt need for a device that accomplishes all of the forgoing objectives, and that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture and safe and easy to use.